


Merry & Bright

by lost_in_mirkwood



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Christmas Fluff, F/M, Sibling Love, like using a candycane to stir your hot cocoa full of marshmallows sweet, so sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-20
Updated: 2020-12-20
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:26:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,110
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28199103
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lost_in_mirkwood/pseuds/lost_in_mirkwood
Summary: Each of Gendry’s half siblings take turns every year hosting Candlemas, this year it's Bella’s turn in the Riverlands. It’s Arya’s first Candlemas with the Baratheon bunch and they've got big news to share come Candlemas morning.
Relationships: Arya Stark/Gendry Waters
Comments: 23
Kudos: 87
Collections: Gendrya Gift Exchange 2020





	1. December 20th-23rd

**Author's Note:**

  * For [mrbinglee](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mrbinglee/gifts).



> Merry Christmas, mrbinglee, this is your Gendrya Gift! I used two of your chosen prompts: “What the hell are you doing here?” & “I already got you pregnant didn’t I?”. I hope you enjoy this Christmas fluff!

Arya can hear Gendry on the phone in the kitchen when she gets home from work. It had been a cold, wet walk from the train station to their apartment in the freezing rain and she’s eager to get out of her dripping coat and damp slacks and into her most comfortable sweater and leggings. What she’d hoped would be a day of answering a few emails and eating goodies in the breakroom had quickly turned into non-stop meetings and not nearly enough tea for the amount of work that had suddenly appeared on her desk on her last day in the office for the year.

“No one needs my input on their projects for the whole month of December,” Arya grumbles to herself as she strips off her blouse and flings it into the hamper, “Until suddenly everyone needs my input right now, today.” 

Pulling her Winterfell Wolves sweatshirt out of their open duffel bag on the bed she finishes taking off her work day and makes her way back to the kitchen. Gendry is standing over a bubbling pot on the stove, minding what looks to be pasta and nodding along as he listens to whoever is talking to him. He glances up at her as she leans against the doorframe watching him and his brilliant smile at her appearance washes away the last bit of tension from her hectic day.

“Right, Bells,” ah, his sister then, not work, “We’ll see you on the 23rd. I’ll text you when we leave. I’ll let her know. Yep, love you too.” With that he hangs up and moves to drain the noodles as Arya pulls plates down from the cabinet.

“How is your sister? And tell me what?” Arya asks. 

Gendry dishes the spaghetti onto both their plates and moves to the table before responding, “You know her, wants every detail about everything. Trying to figure out the sleeping situation and if Edric will make it in from Lys. If we beat Mya and Mychal then we get a bed, if we don’t it’s the air mattress on her office floor.” Gendry had once told her there was a firm first come-first serve policy on beds for the Baratheon Bastard Candlemas. Gendry’s half siblings took turns every year hosting Candlemas and Meghan would bring Barra wherever they’re meeting and spend the holiday with them, wanting her daughter to know her half-brothers and sisters even if they’re all significantly older. Last year Mya had hosted in the Vale, this year they were all traveling to Bella’s in the Riverlands, Gendry’s turn was next year now that they could host more than a friend or two sleeping on the couch. Usually Arya spent Candlemas in Winterfell with her family then joined Gendry for the New Year back in Storm’s End. This year though they were spending Candlemas together for the first time in the Riverlands with Gendry’s siblings before heading to Winterfell for New Year’s with her family.

“So what you’re saying is we’re getting the air mattress in the office since we’ve got a six hour train ride and not a three hour drive?”

He grins, “Yep. Hope you don’t mind cuddling Stark, because the last time I slept on that thing it had a slow leak and I was almost trapped in the middle every morning.”

Arya smiles back, glancing down at her lap where her small bump is hidden under her sweatshirt, “I think it’s safe to say I don’t mind at all, Waters.”

\---

Their weekend goes by in a flurry of gift wrapping, packing and cleaning. Their train departs Storm’s End for Riverrun at 10am Monday in the freezing rain. By the time they arrive in the Riverlands the rain has changed to fat flakes of snow that thickly blanket the rolling hills. Gendry has spent the last half hour of the train ride staring out the window, his leg bouncing nervously. Arya just rolls her eyes as she sets her hand on his thigh, stilling his movement. 

“ _Bloody southerners, this snow is nothing,_ ” she thinks fondly, before saying, “I am perfectly capable of driving us to Stony Sept. I have driven in the snow before, you know.”

Gendry sighs, dropping his large hand over hers, “I know, I know. It just always makes me nervous. I’m more worried about whatever little rental we’re going to get stuck in than the actual driving,” he gestures out the window with his free hand, “I know you can drive in this.” 

Arya smiles at his confidence in her. The train begins to slow as they approach the station, the PA announcing their arrival in Riverrun. When they come to a stop Gendry uses the grip he still has on her hand to pull her to her feet before he pulls their bags down from the overhead rack. Despite her protests he shoulders both bags and gestures her to step into the aisle in front of him as they disembark. With a small huff she leads them onto the platform and out to the rental counter, the tinny sound of Candlemas carols blaring over the hubbub of holiday travelers echoing through the station.

\---

It’s not the smallest car Gendry’s ever had to fold himself into but it feels close. With their bags weighing down the trunk and Arya confidently behind the wheel they begin their half hour drive to Stony Sept and Bella’s house. When they pull into the driveway Barra’s excited squealing can be heard from the car as the seven year old flings open the front door and runs down the snowy walk to greet them. They step out of the car and a voice rings out from the open door shouting “Barra! Your coat!” as the small girl throws herself at Gendry shouting his name. He manages to catch her and swing her around to her delight.

“Little sister!” he cries, “Where’s your coat? Your mum’s not going to be happy with us if you get sick out here in the cold!”

Arya can’t help but smile from the other side of the car as she watches him shift his tiny sister to one arm and open the trunk to get their bags out with the other. All the while Barra is chattering away about the snow, how excited she is to see them and how they’ve taken, “Forrrrreeeeevvvvvveeeeerrrrr to get here Gendry! Why’d you take so long? Mama and I have been here a long time!”

“We’ve been here two days, sweetling,” Meghan laughs, having stepped out of the house with a bright pink jacket in her hands, “We took the early Saturday train out of King’s Landing, Barra wanted to get here as soon as she finished school for the year.”

Barra nods along from her perch in Gendry’s arm, “Mama said one sleep after school was done. But now you’re here too! Can we play in the snow now? Mama said Arya taught you how to make snowmen, I want to make snowmen, can you teach me too?”

Gendry chuckles at her excitement and shuts the trunk just as Arya rounds the back of the car to help. Seeing her little huff out of the corner of his eye he tosses a grin over his shoulder at her and hoists both the bags and Barra a little higher in his arms before leading them all back to the front door of the charmingly lit house where his two older sisters are now standing on the front step. Arya gives Meghan a hug as they start to follow, “I’m glad the excitement of the snow hasn’t worn off yet, she’s gotten so big since I last saw her!”

Meghan laughs softly, “She’s all Baratheon, tallest in her class. She’s been so excited to see everyone that she didn’t want to sleep Friday night, it took forever to get her into bed and settled down. When she saw the snow when we first got here all she could talk about was building snowmen with Gendry and you.”

Stepping into Bella’s house is like stepping into a Candlemas village. She’d clearly gone all out on decorating for the holidays since her siblings were all coming this year. The large tree in the living room sparkles with lights and ornaments, tinsel and garlands hang over the windows and along the fireplace mantle. Little figurines of elves, snowmen, and forest animals in scarves and hats sit along shelves. Everywhere is splashed with green and red, gold and silver. The effect is compounded by the smell of baking cookies wafting through the air as the two older women descend on Arya with hugs and exclamations and Mychal pokes his head out from the kitchen to holler his hello and offer tea. Gendry was being directed to their room for the week by Barra who was now wrapped around his back like a little monkey and telling him all about her friends at school and their recent field trip to the zoo with her class. Arya gets swept along to the kitchen by Bella and Mya, where she takes the proffered cup of tea from Mychal and gives him a peck on the cheek in greeting. 

“You guys aren’t dead last this year,” Bella comments, picking up a cookie shaped like an elf hat and eyeing the array of colored frosting bowls on the counter with a critical eye, “Edric won’t get in until the day after Candlemas. His flight tonight was cancelled leaving Lys because of the snow here, so he’s flying into King’s Landing on late Candlemas and then taking the train up early the next morning. We’ve decided since he’s going through all the trouble he’s allowed to get a hotel and avoid sleeping on the couch without us giving him too much grief.” 

Arya steals a cookie with red frosting decorated like an ornament and takes a large bite out of it, “Hearing Gendry talk about sleeping on that couch before, he’s lucky you’re all so benevolent. Now hand me a frosting knife, I want to help.”

They spend the rest of the afternoon and evening catching up, frosting cookies, and watching the snow fall gently outside the window. Barra insists that they are helping her build a snow family the next morning as Meghan takes her off to bed, leaving the older siblings to trade stories not appropriate for little ears. It’s late by the time Arya and Gendry make their way to their air mattress in Bella’s little office room. Arya dips a little as she lays down on the low surface but is instantly buoyed up when Gendry joins her, his greater weight causing him to sink slightly. As they shift to get comfortable there is a distinct _squeak_ of the mattress against the wood floor and Gendry sighs, “There goes any thoughts of doing _that_ while we’re in here. I don’t need one of my sisters overhearing.”

Arya snickers, “Guess you’ll just have to be patient then, because the floor’s too cold for _that_ , too.”


	2. December 24th

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things get a little warm near the end, but it stays an easy PG-13.

They awoke the next morning in the middle of the air mattress, Arya laying practically atop Gendry’s bare chest with his arms locked around her waist as the edges of the mattress were raised around them. He grumbled into her hair as she shifted slightly trying to free herself from their near-stifling blanket cocoon, her wiggling waking him up enough to loosen his hold and let her roll away. Her shifting weight raised Gendry slightly on their bed before she stood and he dropped back near the floor. 

With a grunt he sat up and, rubbing sleep from his eyes, his dark hair a mess, said, “Bella needs a new air mattress, this thing is terrible. I might as well be on the ground.”

Arya laughed at his grumpy morning face as she shimmied on a pair of flannel pajama pants and threw on a loose sweatshirt, “I’ll bring you some coffee, old man. You won’t be Barra’s favorite if she sees you like this.”

Leaning back on his hands Gendry grinned up at Arya, catching her eyes dip down before returning to his face, “But I’m your favorite and that’s what really counts, right Arry?”

Shaking her head at the old nickname Arya tosses him a t-shirt from the open duffel near her feet before leaving the room. After making a quick stop at the bathroom to freshen up and check that her sweatshirt hides their little surprise she makes her way towards the sound of voices in the kitchen. Mychal is at the stove flipping pancakes and Mya stands next to him stirring a pan of eggs. Coffee burbles in the carafe and the kettle whistles while Bella pulls mugs down from the cabinet as Arya steps into the open space to a chorus of “Good morning’s!”. The smell of the eggs momentarily turns her stomach but she is able to clamp down on the feeling and return the greeting. Grabbing a freshly poured mug of coffee and doctoring it with a heaping spoonful of sugar she turns to take back it to Gendry, only to find him a half step behind her with her box of ginger tea in his hands. With soft smiles they trade and Arya turns back to see Bella and Mya looking at her tea with some suspicion. Trying to divert the attention she asks, “Where are Meghan and Barra? I expected we’d be woken up at dawn to play in the snow.”

Mya chuckles from her spot by the stove, “Meghan managed to convince her to let you guys sleep. They’re in the living room watching one of those old claymation Candlemas movies, Barra thinks they’re the coolest thing. If you want to go grab them, eggs and pancakes are done and bacon’s in the oven. Who’s hungry and how much do you want?”

Breakfast is the usual chaos that comes with eating with large families and Arya thinks she manages to get away without having any of the eggs and only nibbling at a piece of Gendry’s bacon. She eats a few pancakes and drinks her tea, feeling more settled by the time the table is being cleared and Barra starts begging for her and Gendry to go outside with her. 

\---

Helping Barra build a snow family is great fun, the exertion keeping them warm despite the cold day. Arya helps her find sticks that will work for arms and rocks to make faces. Bella brings out a basket of hats and scarves to decorate the finished figures, one for each of Barra’s siblings and their partners, her mum, and a little one right in front in a pink hat and scarf that match Barra’s bright jacket. A neighbor walking by offers to take a picture of them all together with their snow likenesses and Barra scrambles inside to bring everyone out. Gendry wraps his arms around Arya and dips his head to whisper in her ear, “Next year we’ll get to have a little snow-person of our own.”

Arya smiles and tips her head back to peck a kiss on his jaw, pulling away as Barra returns with her sisters, Mychal, and mum in tow. They all smile for the photo before Gendry leans down and picks up a handful of snow. Arya gives him a warning look but he just winks at her as he forms it into a ball. When Mya turns to walk back into the house he lets it fly, catching her in the shoulder and dusting her with a cloud of white.

She shrieks and turns back. Gendry tries to duck behind Arya while grabbing more snow. She quickly steps aside, wanting to get out of the line of fire. Mya flings a ball back at him, catching him in the thigh. Bella makes a break for the door, steps behind Mychal who’s only in a thin sweatshirt and beanie when Gendry catches her in the back as well and Bella skids to a stop, shouting, “Oh it’s on now, Gen! You’re going down!”

It’s two on one as Gendry’s older sisters gang up on him, flinging snowballs and chasing each other around the yard. Bella gets caught in the cross-fire from one of Mya’s and all of a sudden it’s every sibling for themselves. Arya is kneeling in the snow next to Barra, making snowballs for her as she giggles and throws them at her siblings, she misses every shot but is having too much fun to notice. Meghan, having retrieved her camera from the neighbor and stayed out of the battle, is standing on the front step laughing and taking pictures of the chaos in the front yard. As Gendry goes running by Barra and Arya pursued by Mya threatening to whitewash him for shoving snow down her collar Barra throws a perfectly timed snowball, catching her brother in the side of the head. Arya falls over in laughter at the shocked look on his face as he slips and falls into a pile of snow. All three of his sisters converge on him, pelting him with loose snow until he cries for mercy, his deep laughter ringing through the neighborhood. The girls all stand and dust the snow from their hands, their mission accomplished, before trooping back into the house to dry off, Bella promising hot chocolate with lots of marshmallows. 

Arya steps over to her husband, staring down at him fondly as he lays starfished in the snow, his chest heaving, face flushed and eyes shining in delight. She reaches out a hand to help pull him up, only to find herself dragged down on top of him, much like the way they woke up that morning. Gendry wraps his arms around her and she gives him a warm kiss before pulling back. The world tilts for a moment as Gendry rolls them over, Arya finding herself on her back, the snow slowly melting through her jacket and jeans. He leans down and kisses her again, rubbing their cold noses together before standing and pulling her up with him. With a naughty grin and a wiggle of his eyebrows he asks, “So… you, me, and a hot shower? I’m freezing, you’re soaked, we should do something about that?”

Arya bursts out laughing, using the grip he has on her hand to drag him inside. Tingling fingers fumble with coat zippers and boot ties until Gendry drops onto the bench in the entryway and pulls her into his lap, kissing along her neck as he unwinds her scarf and rubs her red fingers between his large, warm hands. Arya hisses when he presses his cold nose behind her ear before shifting around on his thigh to free his thick, dark hair from his beanie and run her warming fingers through it as she kisses him deeply. One of her hands drops to the zipper of the pullover he has on under his coat, gently pulling it down before someone clears their throat behind them. They spring apart, faces flushing for a different reason than the cold. Standing in the hall is Mya, one dark brow raised in amusement, “Hot cocoa is ready,” she says, trying, and failing, not to laugh, “and Bella would like me to remind you guys that hot showers are single occupancy and short since there’s so many of us in the house.” 

Gendry groans, dropping his face into Arya’s shoulder as she shakes with laughter at being caught. 

\---

Barra had wanted to watch Candlemas movies after dinner, insisting that everyone pile onto the couches in the living room to share blankets and a plate of cookies. They started with “ _ How the Grumpkin Stole Candlemas _ ” before moving on to Barra’s, and apparently Arya’s, favorite Candlemas movie, a puppet musical retelling of a classic novel involving ghosts of the past, and somehow also the present and future. Gendry doesn’t question the plot, just enjoyed his little sister and Arya quietly singing along to the opening song. Halfway through the movie he feels a weight on his shoulder and turns his head to find Arya asleep against him. Sinking down into the couch more he gently pulls her across him, tucking the blanket more securely around them as she sleeps. Out of the corner of his eye he sees Bella taking a picture of them from the other couch so he turns and sticks his tongue out at her. She sticks her tongue out in return and takes a few more pictures before turning back to the movie. 

Despite being at least twenty years younger than the rest of them when the movie ends Barra insists that it’s time for everyone to go to bed, not wanting the Candlemas elves to skip the house because they were still awake. Mya and Mychel slip away with quiet goodnights as Meghan helps Barra make another plate of cookies for the visiting elves before taking her to the second guestroom to sleep. Bella gives Gendry a wink and whispers good night before she too heads to her room, leaving the two of them alone on the couch in the empty living room. Gendry stays where he is as the house settles in for the night around him, gently stroking a hand through Arya’s hair as she sleeps against him. After nearly half an hour of just sitting and enjoying the quiet he starts to shift on the couch, preparing to gather Arya into his arms and stand up to take them to their little bed, when Arya’s hands tightened their grip on his shirt and her eyes flutter open. The dim living room is lit by the twinkling lights of the tree and the glow of the snow softly falling outside the windows, making Arya’s gray eyes sparkle as she blinks up at him from her place against his chest. 

Unable to help himself Gendry tilts his head down to kiss her, hands coming up to softly cradle her face as their lips meet again and again. Arya shifts on the couch, moving from her slumped position against his chest to swing a leg over him, settling herself onto his lap as they continue to kiss intensely. Her cool fingers delve under his sweater to trail up his chest as one of his hands finds its home on her waist, the other buried in her hair, tilting her at the perfect angle to keep kissing her deeply as her tongue traces over his lower lip. He gasps quietly when one of her thumbs brush over a nipple, her tongue slipping into his now open mouth for a moment before leaning back to pull his sweater over his head. Once he is free of it her mouth descends from his lips to his neck with hot, open mouthed kisses. She finds the spot on his collarbone that makes his hand tighten on her hip as he grinds against her slowly. Arya lets out a soft noise at the feel of him hard beneath her. His hands find the hem of her sweatshirt and begin to raise it up, he gets it part way up her chest when he hears a gasp from the hallway behind him and a hissed, “ _What the hell are you doing here!_ ”

Arya’s head whips up to look over his shoulder, eyes wide and mouth parted, her lips swollen from their kissing. Her enticing blush deepens and spreads down her cheeks to her neck before disappearing beneath her top as she yanks the hem back down. Gendry drops his head to her sternum with a groan, “Nothing Bella, what the hell are you doing here?”

“Eating the cookies and filling Barra’s stocking, asshole. Could you imagine what would have happened if I’d been her?” She’s clearly trying not to laugh at his misfortune. Getting caught with his hands up Arya’s sweater by his older sister was not how he wanted this night to end, but getting caught by a seven year old anxiously checking to see if the elves had come yet definitely sounded worse.

Arya pats him on the shoulder and kisses the top of his head, “Between Mya earlier and Bella now, I think that’s enough of other people walking in on us for the day. I’m going to head to bed, I’d hate for any more elves to catch us. Night Bella,” with that she hops off his lap and snags a cookie off the plate Barra had left on the coffee table before disappearing down the hall towards their room. Gendry groans again before grabbing a cookie for himself. He stares forlornly at the frosted snowman for a moment before taking a large bite and decapitating it. 

“So… the air mattress not to your liking or...”

“Bella.”

“I’m just saying dude, you’ve got a room with a door and everything. No chance of someone walking in on you feeling your wife up.”

He glares at her for a moment as she adds little bits and bobs to the stocking hanging on the mantle. She’s facing away from him but he’s known her long enough to know she’s hiding a grin at his expense. 

“Let’s just say it lacks the Candlemas magic in there.”

“Gross dude. I don’t need to know about your Candlemas tree kinks.”

“Oh screw you. For that you don’t get any of the cookies for the elves,” he snatches the rest of the plate off the coffee table and holds it out of her reach as he stands from the couch to follow Arya.

She snickers, “Not going to take Arya’s job there, bud. Enjoy the cookies. In your room. With your wife. Away from the Candlemas tree and anyone who might need a drink of water from the kitchen or something. Expect an early wake-up from Barra, Meghan told her she couldn’t come out of the room until seven to see what the elves brought so that gives you,” she squints at the clock on the wall, “approximately six hours to enjoy those cookies and get some sleep.”

Gendry sighs, “Night Bells, happy Candlemas.”

His sister smiles up at him and swipes a cookie off the plate in his hands, “Night Gen, happy Candlemas. Leave the plate with some crumbs for the magic.”


	3. December 25th

Bella’s right, minutes after the clock ticks over 7a.m. they’re woken by the pounding of little fists on the door and Barra calling, “Wake up, sleepyheads! The elves came! Wake up! Wake up!” before they hear the patter of her little feet down the hall back towards the living room. With a groan Arya untangles herself from him where they’ve sunk to the middle of the bed again. Gendry huffs at the loss of her warmth next to him before he too rolls away and feels around for a shirt.

“At least she didn’t come in here, I swear every year since Robb’s kids could walk I’ve woken up Candlemas morning being body slammed by a child and before that it was Rickon,” Arya mutters with her eyes still closed, now face down on the bed. 

Gendry runs a hand down her back as she stretches and groans again, then he reaches into a small pocket of their duffel bag, “I’ve got something for you.”

“You can’t give  _ that _ to me again, you silly bull. You already got me pregnant. I thought we agreed on no gifts this year,” Arya grumbles as she too sits up, rubbing sleep from her eyes and combing her fingers through her hair.

Gendry can’t help but softly smile at her as she finally opened her eyes to see him holding a small wrapped box in his hand. With a small huff she takes it from him and gently unwraps the paper. Inside is a little wooden box, the lid decorated with delicately carved weirwood leaves and flowers. When she opens the lid resting on a rectangle of dark velvet is a necklace. She stares at it for a moment before her head jerks up to meet his eyes. Tears start to well as she traces the pendant with a single finger, a small stone glittering in the center of a silver starburst. She’s never seen this necklace in person before, but she sees it everyday. It’s the same one his mom wears in the photo of her he keeps on his bedside table. 

“Gendry…” She sniffles, she doesn't know what to say. She doesn’t even know where this came from. As far as she knew he had nothing of his mom besides a few photos.

He sniffs for a moment too, “A woman got in contact with me a few months ago, she’d worked with Mum for years at the bar and when Mum got really sick Mum gave her all the jewelry she had to pawn so she could keep food on the table. The woman kept the necklace because she knew just how much Mum loved it. Said it had been a gift from my great-grandfather when Mum had turned sixteen and she’d always planned on giving it back to me when Mum passed but I disappeared into the system too fast for her to return it. She hung on to it for years and kept trying to find me. She’s getting on in years and it was just by chance that she saw my name in the paper about that new design project in Storm’s End. We met for coffee and she was able to give me the necklace and had a bunch of stories about Mum to share.”

Arya’s crying for real now, tears streaming down her face, as Gendry gathers her in his arms and runs a soothing hand up and down her back, the other resting on her little bump between them, “Gen, you can’t give this to me. You should keep it.”

He chuckles for a moment, “Arry, you’re the love of my goddamn life. She’d have been so proud of me when I brought you home for the first time. You’re the only person who I’d ever want to see wear it now that she’s gone. I don’t want it to live in a box, I want our little one to see it and know that it was worn by the two most amazing women in my life.”

Arya nods, trying to stem the flow of tears. She shifts in his arms, turning away and baring the back of her neck to him. She holds the open box out from around her and Gendry plucks the necklace out from the box he’d spent hours carving at Davos’s where he knew she wouldn’t find it. He undoes the clasp and strings it around her, gently kissing the back of her neck when he finishes putting the necklace on her, his beautiful, perfect Arya. She turns back, tears dried, and throws her arms around him, hugging him tightly and mumbling, “Happy Candlemas, Gendry,” into his shoulder. Pulling back both their eyes drop to the small starburst hanging just below the notch of her collarbone. They look back at each other at the same time and Gendry plants a kiss on her lips, muttering, “Beautiful,” as he does.

At that moment their little bubble is popped by the sound of little feet in the hall. Barra knocks on their door again, entreating them to get up so they can open presents. Gendry stands from the bed with Arya still in his arms, causing her to laugh as he fakes a groan at the pretended strain. He swings the door open to bid his sister good morning, finding the excited seven year old bouncing on her toes with an elf hat placed jauntily over her black curls.

“There you are!” she cries, “Mama said I couldn’t open the door but Bella said I should. I listened to Mama. Can we open presents now? Mya said there’s coffee and tea in the kitchen and Mychal made cimanan rolls and the elves ate all the cookies last night!”

They both laugh at how enthusiastic Barra is. “I’m glad you listened to your Mum and not Bella,” Gendry says as he continues to carry Arya down the hall. She squirms in his hold but he just bounces her in his arms before sweeping into the kitchen. He stops at the counter in front of the coffee maker and looks momentarily perplexed. Arya starts to snicker, there’s no way he can make himself a cup of coffee or get her any tea with her in his arms but he doesn’t seem to want to set her down. His eyes light up after a moment and he deposits her on the counter next to the carafe. He places two mugs in her hands and fills one with coffee and sugar for him and another with ginger tea for her. He then scoops her back into his arms and turns towards Barra and the living room with a smug grin. 

Barra’s looking at them with confusion, practically vibrating with the urge to go open presents but knowing that her brother needs coffee first, much like her sisters and her Mama. She stands in the doorway like a particularly patient sheepdog, making sure they don’t get off track and delay Candlemas any further. The two of them finally ready, she leads them the rest of the way to the living room, the sunrise just peeking over the distant hills through the front windows. The tree lights are glittering and someone has lit a fire in the fireplace. The coffee table has been pushed to the side and on it sits a stack of plates and napkins and the platter of cinnamon rolls, along with more coffee and a carton of juice. Mya and Mychal are curled together on one end of the couch while Bella cradles a mug of coffee on the other. Meghan is on the floor near the tree, clearly ready to help Barra play Head Elf and hand out presents. Everything is perfect.

“Finally!” Bella crows, “We can get started now that you two sleepyheads are up!”

Gendry rolls his eyes at his sister before gently sitting them down on the smaller couch, mindful not to spill either of the hot drinks Arya is holding. He plucks the coffee mug from her hands once they’re settled and takes a large gulp before turning to Meghan, “I’m not sure what happened to Bella, but I’d like to thank you for not raising Barra in a barn.  _ Someone _ told her she should barge in to wake us up but she clearly knows who’s the better person to listen to.”

Bella cackles and Mya snorts into her mug, “Would you like the list alphabetically, or chronologically, brother?” Bella swats at her sister from her spot on the couch but is too far away to reach her. Meghan just shakes her head at the siblings’ nonsense. Barra, having waited long enough, begins to pull presents out from under the tree, carefully reading each tag and handing them to the appropriate recipient. Once each person has a gift she nods solemnly before tearing into the wrapping paper with gusto. After everyone has unwrapped their gift she repeats the process. 

When all the gifts under the tree have been opened Gendry stands from his spot on the couch and disappears into their bedroom. They’d saved one round of gifts for last. When he returns he hands out the small packages to Mya, Bella, and Barra. As he does Arya says, “We wanted to give you all these together, you all get to open them at the same time.”

Gendry sits back next to her and pulls his phone out, opening the camera and switching it to video, as he presses record he says, “Okay, now!”

His sisters all tear into the paper and pull out matching gray t-shirts. Bella and Mya start squealing as they read the cursive script on the front. Barra’s brow is furrowed as she reads her shirt before looking up at Gendry with confusion, “Auntie? But I’m Barra.”

Gendry smiles at his little sister, “But come May you’re also going to be an Auntie.”

He barely manages to stop recording their reactions before he is tackled in a hug by Bella and Mya who are shouting in delight about their suspicions being right and how excited they are for a little one to join the family. Barra’s eyes widen and swing between them and Arya and they can all see the understanding light her face. She squeals like her sisters before running to the couch and throwing her arms around Arya, “BEST CANDLEMAS EVER!” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> May your days be merry and bright!


End file.
